Darren Cohen
RDML Darren Cohen (AKA Darren-072) was the director of the Diamond Initiative, and a former SPARTAN-II conscript. Cohen was dropped from the Spartan program after he nearly lost his life during Project: ASTER, the SPARTAN-II biological augmentation, and was soon there after made an ONI Officer. Cohen would work on several projects with ONI, but his largest contribution would be in the experimental combined arms Diamond Initiative, where he would be the CO of a Joint ONI-NAVSPECWEAP special operators team, known as Diamond Team (Delta-Two) that focused on the capture of highly classified, and highly desired Xenotechnology. Biography Early Life Unnamed by his birth parents, infant Cohen was adopted at by Blake and Valerie Chandler. Reflectively, Cohen would have little negative to say of the Chandlers, as they were, in his mind, his true parents. After being kidnapped and conscripted to the SPARTAN-II program, Cohen was given the Spartan designation "Darren-072", and would soon after be grouped with Purple Team. Part of his indoctrination process also revealed that his adoptive parents hadn't revealed his true background, which did succeed in him becoming less emotionally attached to most people from his prior life, and seeing personal connections as superficial. This trait would stay with him into adulthood. Cohen's training was as standard for a Spartan as it could be called for Spartans. He was neither the strongest, fastest, or brave of the Spartans, but he was incredibly smart and tactful, and became and incredibly skilled unarmed combatant, becoming the sparring partner of many Spartans willing to share a ring with him. Augmentation Unfortunately for Cohen, one of the major steps in becoming a Spartan was body augmentation. Cohen, and many other potential Spartans, would either washout from failed augmentation, or die in the augmentation process. In the case of Cohen's procedure, the chemicals which were to used increase muscle-mass and density reacted poorly to his body. Cohen would "die" on the operating table several times before he was stabilized, and was kept on ventilation for months as he couldn't breath unassisted. The chemical had had the opposite affect on both his right leg and diaphragm, reducing muscle to the point of being as delicate as paper, or as dense as Styrofoam. Through immense gene and physical therapy Cohen was able to regain some strength in his legs, but would continue to use a cane for walking support. Due to the deterioration of his diaphragm, Cohen would be forced to utilize a pump and full-facial medical mask to inflate and deflate his lungs. Some of Cohen's augmentations did take, however, and some had to undone for his safety. He would benefit from an augmented metabolism and thought process. And, although not a physical hindrance, the chemicals which attacked his muscles also had changed the pigmentation of his hair from black to white, his eyes from brown to blue, and his skin a more pale shade as well. All these things combined to make some believe Cohen was much older than he was.